Hey y’all - I’m new to the forum, but met many of y’all at the Equestrian Businesswomen Summit back in January. My old work boots are on their last leg and I’m finally going to have to break down and buy a new pair. I don’t need anything high-end, but I prefer something handmade that will last me a decade if necessary. There are soooo many more options out there than when I bought my last pair almost 10 years ago. Does anyone have any recommendations for their favorite pair of boots that look as good on the dance floor as they feel on the farm?
I think you’re looking for something that doesn’t exist. In my experience, there are no truly comfortable, sturdy work boots that also look good on the dance floor. It’s like taking expecting an Arabian halter horse to be competitive against the draft horses at a horse pull.
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I wear paddock boots to do barnwork, Ariats with nice comfortable soles. When they are brand new they look like Blundstones and I believe the day they were brand new I put them on with my tailored work pants one wet and snowy day, and they looked just fine.
However, after a week doing barn chores, they reek to the skies. If I end up in a clean environment like work I can smell them from 5 feet away (the approximate height of my nose). I keep them on a boot dryer in the laundry room and I can smell them when I open the door. For a couple of years I was riding before work and changing at work, and I realized was leaving a trail of mud and woodchips behind me down the hall. I can’t keep my own front entrance clean at home. Even if I brush the boots at the barn, they still shed more filth when they dry out.
It is true that, being a suburban horse owner, I do end up wearing them to the mall and even to go grab a lunch or dinner. It’s not a very fancy suburb, and no one seems to notice I have on full seat breeches and hay in my hair.
But I cannot imagine wearing them dancing or to work now, because that smell is deeply soaked in.
Now I am in a wet and rainy climate and I clean up to three stalls a day, though fortunately my barn does not have mud. But there is nothing that you can wear to clean stalls that will not stink after the first day.
Now riding is another matter. Riding English, I will put half chaps on with my paddock boots. But I also have tall boots that I put on just before I ride and take off right after.
I think that western riders are equally protective of their good cowboy boots. They really aren’t meant to be walked in all day. Now, I could imagine a working ranch in summer in dry country, where the horses lived in paddocks or fields, and you caught them up and saddled them and went riding without needing to muck stalls or hose the horse off or do much in the way of barn chores. Maybe there you could put on good boots for the day.
Anyhow, I have accepted that my work boots will have a limited life span. I really like the Ariat H20 twin gore paddock boots because they are waterproof, and the feet are really comfortable, they have no laces to come undone, and I can ride in them as well. I killed my last pair in two years, so this pair have a boot dryer (best invention ever for sweaty boots) and I am putting Dubbin on them. But they are not going to last me ten years.
I’ve just accepted that comfort means more of a sneaker construction, whether it is in riding boots or hiking boots, and that is not as sturdy as the old handmade all leather footwear.
If you don’t like the Blundstone look for western wear, Ariat also makes a variety of western style boots including a little shorty sqwuare toed boot that is cute. I have never tried these on.
For good cowboy boots, for riding or for fashion, wow, the sky is the limit. I rode Western as a kid, English now, but I sure do covet the higher end boots I see in the Western tack shops. The only sad thing is, you are meant to wear them under your jeans leg, and that hides the gorgeous decoration on the shaft.
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Not really, you can go “punchy” and wear jeans inside the boot shaft.
With all the new show ranch classes, that is becoming the norm even in the streets, for what I see.
@NoSuchPerson - haha I hear you! I know I’m looking for something that is hard to find. That’s why I thought I’d reach out and see if anyone had any different advice.
@Scribbler - Thank you for the great feedback. I think I’ll end up having to buy 2 pair, which is going to squeeze the budget a bit more than I was planning on. I really NEED something comfortable to work in, but I really WANT something that looks good to wear out. The Ariat paddock boots are just so darn ugly 
but they will serve their purpose well. I love the higher end western boots as well… it just seems like my budget won’t be able to handle it. My current pair are square toe from Ariat, but I really like the look of the round toe. Would love something in an exotic looking leather, but again the budget (aka my husband), probably won’t allow for it. He told me to look into Tecovas (www.tecovas.com). Have any of y’all worn or tried their boots? My husband saw them at the Houston rodeo and I think they might be in my price-range.
On the topic of work boots, on a previous thread some people mentioned that they buy lightly used hiking boots at thrift stores and just wear them until they die. This would be if you are spending all day on chores, not for riding.
If you know what you want in nicer boots, size and brand and model, you might be able to find good bargains online or when tack stores have sales.
Have you tried Justin Ropers? My daughter and I both love them though the break on took more time for me than her due to my sensitive feet. She wore hers until they almost resembled those boot sandals on a Facebook meme.
Do you want to ride in them too?
I love my old Ariats for riding. I haven’t tried dancing in them, but they’re not comfortable for walking much and I would never ruin my riding boots by doing barn work in them. I also love my Ariat endurance riding boots and they are comfortable for walking, but they’re not work boots and after walking and riding in them I wouldn’t wear them to a dance.
It would be like wearing soccer shoes to a dance, or riding in ballet shoes.
Horses for courses, and boots for floors. You wouldn’t go dancing in your breeches, would you? Or in your Carhartts after cleaning stalls all day?
I seriously doubt your hubby goes dancing in his cleats!
I love my Ariat Probabys for riding and “working”. They are super comfortable for me to wear all day.
Beck Boots out of Amarillo. Look them up - they have full custom boots that will last a decade, easy, and semi-custom that are about half the cost and equally as sturdy. The customs take about four months to receive; the semi-customs are more like a two week wait.
I got tired of buying a $125 pair of boots every 10-12 months and decided to go custom. Wow. They are exactly what I want and wear like iron. I"m not on Facebook, but I know they’ve got lots of photos of custom pairs on their FB page.
Coming back to say that the gallery page on their website has the customer’s photos. It’s here: https://beckboots.com/pages/customer-gallery
They send you this squishy material that you stand in to get the right fit, and you measure several different places on your leg. You may choose the toe shape, the heel, the upper color, the leather. Pretty great.
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I wear Justin Gypsy boots. Short, round toe, sturdy as the the day is long, and comfortable! Just bought my second pair after nearly 15 years. Finally killed the others. I do not ride in them, only barn/field work. We live at home with our horses, so it’s no problem for me to change before my rides.
I wear skinny jeans with my fancy books. They are so good looking and I spent too much money on them to hide them! They were my wedding boots and I wear them at least once a week!
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I wear Ariats to ride and work in around the farm. I have a couple pairs of Luchese boots for dressing up. They will last forever, but they don’t see mud, let alone manure, when I wear them.
I have Ariats for working around the farm, Ariats for riding, and Ariats to wear out on the town. So I highly recommend Ariats!
My riding boots I’ve had for over 10 years. My work boots for almost 7, and my dressy ones for almost 7. They are all going strong.
I also have muck boots for winter, and gardening boots for wet/muddy conditions in warm weather.
I firmly believe that you have certain boots for certain purposes if you want them to last.
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